The Congress on Wednesday said that the party is going to place a candidate against Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar in the bypoll which going to be held soon.

Parrikar has to get elected to the Assembly within six months of taking charge as the Chief Minister. His swearing-in ceremony took place on March 14.

If Parrikar has to fight the bypoll, then somebody has to leave a seat for him. In order to make him fight the election, two legislators from the BJP, BJP legislators Siddharth Kuncolienkar (Panaji) and Nilesh Cabral (Curchorem) have volunteered to resign.

Parrikar had given his resignation as the Defence Minister after there was a situation of hung assembly in Goa.

Goa Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Chandrakant Kavlekar told PTI, “Whichever constituency Parrikar is going to contest, Congress will field its candidate against him. The party has decided that it will defeat Parrikar in the by-election.”

However, the BJP has not taken any decision yet that from where the Goa Chief Minister will contest.

Congress has a strong organisational set up in both the constituencies offered by the two BJP legislators to Parrikar to contest from, Kavlekar said. “Congress has able leaders who can take Parrikar head on,” he further said.

Congress had won 17 seats and BJP 13 in the 40-member Goa House. However, the BJP formed the government after the independents and regional parties supported them.

The BJP is like to decide this week that from which constituency the Goa CM will contest the by-election.